Hospice Care | Good Samaritan Hospice | Hospice Care | Palliative Care | Illness Care | Support & Resources | Center for Caring | Careers at Good Sam | Hospice and Palliative Care in the Roanoke and New River Valleys of Virginia

older woman and daughter embrace and hold hands

FAQ

Is hospice only for cancer patients?

While hospice was initially started for patients with cancer, over 50% of all hospice care is now provided to patients with other end-stage diseases, such as lung, heart, renal and liver diseases, dementia, and strokes.

What is the difference between hospice and a hospital?

While a hospital’s goal is to cure, the goal of hospice is to provide comfort-related care that enables a patient to live his or her final days as fully as possible, surrounded by care, compassion and dignity.

When should a patient enter hospice, and who should make the decision?

At any time during a life-limiting illness, it’s appropriate to discuss all of a patient’s care options. Patients and their families should feel free to discuss hospice care at any time with their physician, other health care professionals, clergy or friends. By law, the decision belongs to the patient. Understandably, most people are uncomfortable with the idea of stopping an all-out effort to “beat” their disease. Hospice staff members are highly sensitive to these concerns and are always available to discuss them with the patient, family and physician.

If a patient improves, can he or she return to regular treatment?

Certainly. If improvement in the condition occurs and the disease seems to be in remission, the patient can be discharged from hospice and return to aggressive therapy or go on about his or her daily life. If a discharged patient should later need to return to hospice care, Medicare and most private insurance will allow additional coverage for this purpose.

What does “six months or less” mean? Can someone live for six months under hospice care and exhaust their hospice benefit?

Both Medicare and Virginia hospice regulations state that someone is appropriate for hospice if a physician determines that the patient has approximately six months or less to live if the disease runs its normal course. Determining this six-month timeframe can be very difficult! We would rather ask the question, “Would you be surprised if this person was not here six months from now?” If the answer is, “We would not be surprised,” hospice may be appropriate. Some of our patients do live beyond the six-month timeframe and remain appropriate for hospice as long as they continue to meet hospice appropriateness criteria. Some of our patients improve and discharge from hospice. These patients may return to hospice care if they need it at a later date.

Hospice is specialty care for people living with advanced illness who wish to focus on comfort and relief from distressing symptoms rather than curative treatment. Hospice is a philosophy of care that promotes quality of life and the alleviation of suffering.

Our hospice team serves people of any age with advanced illness including, but not limited to, cancer, heart or lung disease, kidney or liver disease, dementia, Parkinson’s and ALS.

Hospice care is appropriate for people who have a prognosis of approximately six months or less. While advanced illness affects how a person lives, much can be done to improve physical comfort and emotional well-being. Many people receiving hospice care continue to enjoy activities that are meaningful to them. Our hospice team helps people remain mobile, alert, and engaged for as long as their conditions will allow.

Soon after receiving a diagnosis of a life-limiting illness, you and your family may wish to consider all your care options so you are better able to make fully informed decisions. The earlier hospice becomes involved, the better we can serve and support you and your family.

If you’re not ready to consider hospice, you may still benefit from Good Sam’s palliative care services.

Benefits of Hospice Care

Simply put, hospice is about choosing life. It’s about believing that every moment, of every hour, of every day matters and deciding to savor every one.

Hospice teams work with existing physicians and nursing staff to care for the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of both the patient and their family and loved ones. But our goal is unique compared to traditional restorative care. We focus on caring, rather than curing, and we do whatever it takes to help patients and loved ones face the journey ahead with clarity and dignity.

Hospice services range from pain management to a host of alternative therapies, and these programs can be implemented wherever the patient is most comfortable: a private residence, nursing home, apartment, etc. While hospice is not a 24/7 service, Good Samaritan and most hospice programs are on-call around the clock should a need arise.

What is the difference between palliative care and hospice care?

Palliative care provides comfort and minimizes symptoms, possibly alongside curative treatments. Hospice is a type of comfort care for those whose life expectancy is six months or less, but the journey is unique to each individual. Hospice is holistic in nature. In addition to symptom management, hospice addresses the spiritual, mental and emotional challenges of end-of-life and includes the needs of both the patient and the family in the plan of care.

Is hospice care comfort care?

Yes, hospice care is always about comfort. Hospice care does NOT mean “no care.” Many people think that choosing comfort care rather than curative care means someone will not receive any care at all. This could not be more wrong! Hospice care is very aggressive care with the goal of making and keeping someone comfortable.

Where is hospice located?

Hospice is not a place, but a philosophy of care for people with an incurable or life-limiting disease. When a patient enters into hospice care, we come to them to provide services, whether their residence is a home, a nursing facility or a hospital. Hospice care is provided most often in a patient’s home–the place where someone is most comfortable and surrounded by friends, family and familiar objects.

What is the difference between hospice and home health care?

Hospice care is often confused with traditional “home health” services. In fact, they are quite different. While both provide services “in the home” or, in some cases, in a facility such as a nursing home or assisted living, home health focuses on rehabilitation to help someone get better or physically improve. Hospice focuses on aggressive comfort and symptom management and considers family and caregivers as patients as well.